Common Questions About Sleep Apnea

If you experience short periods of time when you stop breathing at night, then you might be dealing with sleep apnea. These periods of not breathing will usually wake you up at night or will wake up another person in the bed with you who pays attention to your sleeping habits. Although this can be a frightening time, you can be better prepared about sleep apnea by asking our doctor questions about the causes and what can be done to help with the condition.

One of the first common questions is about the causes of sleep apnea. You stop breathing at night when the airway is obstructed in some way. Your tongue and the muscles that are in your throat relax to the point where they cover your windpipe, which results in not being able to breathe at night. If you still have your tonsils or if you have an abnormally large tongue, then these would be causes of sleep apnea. Another cause of sleep apnea is being overweight. When there’s too much pressure and weight on your throat, then it can block your windpipe, resulting in sleep apnea.

Talk to our doctor about the symptoms of sleep apnea as this is another common question that you might have. Snoring is a symptom that other people might notice before you, especially if there’s someone else sleeping in your bed. Sometimes, you might wake yourself up at night because of your snoring. Headaches in the morning or during the day as well as a lack of energy during the day are also symptoms that you might experience because of the periods of time you wake up at night.

If you suffer from sleep apnea, you must first determine the cause before you can decide on treatment. If the cause of your condition is due to your weight, then our professionals are the best people to turn to. We offer medical weight loss procedures to help you reach your goal weight and improve your quality of life. There is a long list of conditions that can be improved just by losing weight, and sleep apnea is one of them.